A World Alone

-Thalia.
I bit my lip, looking at another jersey that I had on. This time, I had Neymar's jersey on instead of Messi's. I smiled when I repeated his name again and again in my head. I couldn't stop replaying the moment in my head when he actually talked to me. His fingers grazed against my arm. I was being a complete stalker right now, but I guess everyone would be this way if a football legend touched them.

"You ready, Thalia?" Olivia asked, walking into the room sporting an Iniesta jersey along with black skinny jeans and white trainers. I nodded, smoothing my hair back. "Today, make sure you bump into another footballer. Good things happened last time." Olivia joked, making me hit her lightly on the arm jokingly. She handed me the key card since I didn't trust her with the card anymore.

The two of us walked out of the hotel room, talking about who was probably going to make a goal tonight. "Probably Messi. And I hope Alexis or Neymar score too!" Olivia chirped as she walked out of the elevator. The two of us walked the familiar way to Camp Nou and I smiled as Olivia talked about Alexis' stats.

She flashed the two tickets at the security guards who let us in. She found our seats, which were definitely good seats as well. "Damn, remind me to thank your dad a thousand times when we get home." I chuckled, my eyes scanning the field. Olivia smiled, "He knows how hard we've worked, so bingo."

Olivia's dad was a friend of one of the FC Barcelona board members so of course he could score us both three tickets in one of the best sections in the stadium, next to the VIP section where all the WAGs and the player's families were.

After a while of just waiting, the announcer said something and the fans started standing up and screaming. I looked down at the pitch where the players started coming out, some kissing their fingers and pressing them to the ground for good luck. I looked around and a smile broke out on my face when I saw Lionel walking out behind Andrés Iniesta.

"MESSI!" the fans chanted, yelling at the Argentine who smiled and waved at the crowd, making Olivia swoon. "Do you think he recognises you?" Olivia asked, following Leo with her eyes. I shrugged, "I bumped into him a week ago. I don't think so."

Olivia frowned and turned back towards the pitch. After another good fifteen minutes, the match started. Neymar had amazing control of the ball, completely confusing the defenders. He quickly moved past the defenders and passed the ball to Xavi who was too far to make a goal, so he kicked it back to Messi who jumped up, his head colliding with the ball. The stadium screamed in joy as the ball flew to the back of the net. Messi ran down the field, his arms spread out on his sides. He pointed both his fingers to the sky and thanked God for the amazing goal. He smiled and looked around the stadium when his eyes landed on me. He moved on to the seats beside me but his eyes flickered back to my seat. Olivia sucked in a breath and my eyes widened as I focused on the Argentine. He awkwardly smiled and waved at me. The people beside me turned to look at me shocked as they started asking me how I knew him. I turned back towards Leo and shot him a small smile which he returned before focusing again on the game.

"What the..." Olivia gasped, her eyes wide as she looked at me. "Did he give you his number or something?" she asked. I shook my head, "No, he didn't.

We watched the match again, Leo's actions still on my mind. A minute right after the second half started, Alexis scored a header, making the score 2-0. I grinned happily and clapped my hands. 78th minute, Dani Alves made a beautiful assist to Pedro, resulting in another goal. The match flew by without anymore goals from Barça or the opponent team. When the match ended, the fans went crazy, screaming Messi, Pedro and Alexis' name. The match was over and the fans started piling out.

"Let's stay here for a while. I know it's going to be a hell of a long queue outside." Olivia sighed, sitting down on her chair as we watched the fans slowly start to leave the stadium. "Wow, I can't believe he waved at you. He remembers you." Olivia squealed, making me roll my eyes though I was in shock as well. "It's crazy." Finally, we were the only people left in the stadium. "I think we've waited long enough." I said, standing up and stretching my arms above my head. Olivia checked her watch and nodded and we began making our way to the exit.

"Shit!" Olivia yelped. "I have the key, don't worry." I sighed, showing her the key card. Olivia shook her head, "I forgot, my cousins want to meet up with me for dinner. I'm so sorry, Thals. I completely forgot!" Olivia frowned.

I shrugged, "It's okay. Just go and have fun with your cousins, I'll walk around the area for a while. Get to know the place." I smiled.

"Are you sure?" Olivia asked, "I can call them and cancel."

"Of course, silly. You barely see them, go on and have fun." I smiled. Olivia nodded, "Thanks, Thalia! I'll make it up to you, promise." she said, before dashing off.

I sighed and tightened my ponytail, finding my way out of Camp Nou. I decided to get some coffee first before heading back to the hotel since I was feeling really sleepy. I walked around in search of a cafe when I saw a nearby Starbucks. I mentally cheered and crossed the street. I pushed open the Starbucks door. It was mostly empty, just a few people chattering quietly. I ordered a coffee and paid, waiting for my order.

I got my order and thanked the Barista, walking out of the coffee shop and walked back to the hotel slowly. It was a peaceful night, there weren't many people out and about tonight except for occasional Barça fans returning from the match. But my peaceful night was rudely interrupted when someone bumped into me from behind, making me spill my coffee all over my shirt.

"Crap!" I yelped. My skin was burning, the hot liquid scorching my skin. "Ow, ow, ow, ow."

I turned to look at the person who had bumped into me, but my eyes widened in surprise when I saw Lionel Messi. Again. His eyes widened as he looked at my browned shirt. "Thalia? Shit." he turned around and grabbed my nearly empty cup of coffee, tossing it in the trash before grabbing my hand and pulling me towards an empty alley.

"Leo, what the hell?" I snapped, pulling the now wet, sticky shirt that was clinging to my skin. Now I was panting and panicked. "Thalia, I'm so sorry. Some fans were chasing me and...are you okay?" he asked me. I had asthma and it really affected me when I was little, I guess nothing's changed. I took long deep breaths, trying to get my breathing back in control. "A-Asthma." I wheezed.

Leo's expression changed into concern, he got closer to me, resting his arm on my shoulder. "Long, deep breaths. It's okay, Thalia."

I nodded, getting tears in my eyes. It was getting harder to breathe. "I'm so sorry, Thalia. I'm so sorry. I didn't know. God, I'm such an idiot." Leo groaned, getting an angry look in his eyes. I frowned, shaking my head. "It's not your f-f-fault." I wheezed. He frowned at me and put his hands on my shoulders, "Are you feeling better?" I crumbled in his arms, clinging to his shirt. "Sorry, sorry. I can't stand straight." I murmured, my legs shaking. I didn't know which to focus on first: the burning liquid on my shirt, my breathing problems or Lionel Messi holding me in his arms.

"Your shirt." he muttered, grabbing his gym bag and rummaging around for something. He pulled out a black Barça shirt and gave it to me, "You should change."

I nodded, my heart still beating really fast. He turned around, giving me some privacy. I quickly peeled the shirt off my body and quickly replaced it with Leo's shirt that fell to just a little bit above my knees. "I'm done." I muttered. He turned around and nodded, he looked around in his bag again and handed me a blue Barça jacket. "It's chilly out."

I gratefully took the jacket from him and wrapped it around myself. "Do you live around here?" he asked. "My hotel's a few minutes away from here."

"Want me to walk you home?" he offered.

"It's fine, it's just a five minute walk."

"I made you cut your elbow, spilled coffee all over you and got you into an asthma attack. I think the least I can do is walk you home."

I smiled at him, nodding at his offer. We exited the small alleyway and started walking to the hotel. "Tell me about yourself?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"Well...my full name's Thalia Lorena Morales. I'm from Buenos Aires," I paused, looking at him to see a grin on his face. "You're Argentinian?" he asked. I nodded, "Argentine and proud," I giggled. "My birthday's on the 12th of November, I'm currently twenty-five. I have a 19-year-old brother and...that's pretty much it."

He nodded, his lips in a perfect smile. "What about you?" I asked.

"Born and raised in Rosario. I moved here for La Masia when I was 13 and I've been playing for Barça ever since. I've got two elder brothers, Rodrigo and Matias and a little sister, Maria Sol. There's not really much to tell." he sighed.

Everything he just told me was all the basic information I already knew from reading magazines, biographies and Wikipedia, but I wanted to know more about him.

We reached the hotel and I smiled at Leo. "It was nice to see you again."

"Even if you got an asthma attack and coffee spilled all over you for it?" Leo joked. I laughed, "It was just a small asthma attack."

He pulled out his phone, "Can I...have your number?" he asked, his cheeks heating up. I smiled at him, resisting the urge to scream out in happiness. I pulled out my phone and we exchanged our numbers. "Are you coming to anymore Barça games?" he asked.

"Yeah. We've only got one more ticket left for next week's game against Levante." I replied. He nodded, a small smile on his face. "I'll see you there."

He leaned forward and gave me a small kiss on the cheek. "See you, Lia."